Cyborg drummer will rule the drum circles of tomorrow

Of all the things that could be replaced by robots, did you ever think patchouli-scented, dreadlock-sporting drum circlers would ever be one of them? Well, thanks to the pioneering work of Patrick Flanagan and the magic of the Nintendo Wiimote (see, it's not just for getting old people to play video games!), the drum circle of tomorrow will be ruled by machines. As seen in the video above, Flanagan has rigged up a series of crazy mechanical devices controlled by a couple of Wiimotes to some hand drums and assorted percussion. He swings the controllers around, they trigger some sort of automagical computer process and the results sound a lot like sitting around the campfire at a Rainbow gathering (minus the drugs).

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In practice, we're guessing hauling all this fancy Rube Goldberg-esque gadgetry and the computers needed to make it go out into the woods for a drum circle jam is probably impossible, so you hippies are safe for now. Watch out when some marketing geniuses mass-produce a portable version in a few years, though...

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Cory Casciato is a Denver-based writer with a passion for the geeky, from old science fiction movies to brand-new video games.

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